Worship & Prayers for The Eleventh Sunday after Trini

Opening Rite

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself.  

The Lord is here His Spirit is with us

 Prayers of Penitence

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy upon those who fear him.

 Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God, holy and strong, holy and immortal, have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he set our sins from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

cf Psalm 103

The Collect  

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

 Isaiah 56.1,6-8

Thus says the Lord: maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

 Psalm 67

/R: Let the people praise you, O God, let all the people praise you.

God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.    /R:

O let the nations rejoice and be glad, for you will judge the peoples righteously and govern the nations upon earth.    /R:

Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, our own God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him    /R:

Romans 11.1-2a,29-32

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

The Gospel According to Matthew 15.21-28

 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

This is the gospel of the Lord Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

Matthew’s Jesus insists that, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’ and sent out his disciples saying, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans’ (10.5). Whereas in Mark’s account, Jesus goes into the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon and enters a house there (7.24), in Matthew, Jesus only approaches its borders and the woman comes out from that region to enter his territory and engage him. Mark’s ‘Syrophoenician’ becomes Matthew’s ‘Canaanite’, the scriptural name for those from whom Israel should separate (e.g. Genesis 28.1; Ezra 9.1). (The preceding discussion of Jesus’ saying, ‘It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles,’ also illustrates this difference of emphasis. Mark notes that ‘Thus he declared all foods clean’ (7.19), whereas Matthew’s conclusion is that ‘to eat with unwashed hands does not defile’ (15.20), which does not set aside the scriptural purity laws separating Israel from the nation.)  Because of this emphasis on the separation between God’s Israel and the wicked nations, it is the mother’s extraordinary act on her daughter’s behalf that is highlighted. She cries out for mercy from the Lord’s anointed, but he has nothing to say. When she kneels in supplication for her child, he comes up with a crudely expressed theological objection (see Deuteronomy 23.18; Philippians 3.2). In her personal desperation she still manages to defeat him in debate, and only then he recognises the genuineness of her faith, and allows that the God of Israel will surely meet her need.  This Canaanite woman’s daughter is healed at a distance, as was the Roman centurion’s servant (Matthew 8.5-13). In both cases Jesus commends their faith: ‘Nowhere in Israel have I found such faith’ (8.10). Obedient to his mission to Israel, Jesus nevertheless finds that his power to heal is responsive to those who are far off, as well as to those who are near (see Ephesians 2.13).

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

 Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere

On the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

God of glory, the end of our searching, help us to lay aside all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom, and to give all that we have to gain the pearl beyond all price, through our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 Praying for the Earth                                   Air pollution

We give thanks that life depends upon the air we breathe. Help us to see the atmosphere as a precious resource, and forgive us when we use it as a dumping ground. As the wind blows where it wills, grant all nations wisdom in dealing with the effects of air pollution, for the health and well-being of all your creatures. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh (Church of Ireland), Diocese of Aarhus (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark)

Anglican Communion: The Church in Wales Primate: The Most Reverend Cherry Vann

Newcastle West Deanery:   St Michael and All Angels, Newburn

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

Pray for all working in the government offices

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those who have recently died

Deirdré Crowe

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Rose Patterson, Winifred Patterson, Margaret Worsley, Mary Parr, Gemma McKenna, Joan Humphries, Arthur Hill, Thomas French, William Ireland and Arthur Mobbs

You might like to end your prayers with The Lord's Prayer  

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.   For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord! Thanks be to God!